New Apple TV Remote app with Siri functionality will arrive next year

You'll soon be able to use the Apple TV remote app on your iPhone to control your set-top box with Siri voice commands.

The new Apple TV comes with a new physical remote that is decked out with a touchpad and buttons for menu, home, volume, and Siri. There are even dual mics for Siri located at the top of the wand. All this allows you to take advantage of the Siri digital assistant on the Apple TV. She brings voice-controlled, smart search to the set-top box.

When you ask Siri to find a movie, TV show, or song, for instance, she'll search not only iTunes, but also Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, and HBO. You can also conduct voice searches for actors and genres. Just say "Show me Bond movies" or "Just the ones with Sean Connery." And now it looks like, by next year, you won't need the remote to do any of this.

Instead, you'll use a new Apple TV Remote app. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Apple SVP Eddy Cue said a new Apple TV Remote app is in the works and should arrive next year with full Siri functionality:

"We’re working on a new Apple TV remote app that will give you the full functionality of the Siri Remote on your iPhone," Cue revealed. "We’re hoping to ship that in the first half of next year."

Apple

Apple's existing Remote app is pretty simple. It's been around for years and basically lets you control Apple TV or your iTunes Library from your iPhone. With the Apple TV, you can flick around using your finger to navigate, or you can bring up a digital keyboard to enter text. The app is fairly basic and hasn't been changed much since launch.

But when the new app is released next year - which, by the sounds of things, will just be a much-improved version of the current app rather than a new standalone app - it will include full Siri support, adding the ability to search by voice in order to find movies, TV shows, music, and more.